Nothing Without You
by Once Upon An Avenger
Summary: Pepper is done but Tony's just begun. Pepper/Tony Read and Review!


This was her decision. She had been compromised, manipulated, all her life but not this time. She had never been wanted, by her parents or by anyone at all. Shoved from foster home to foster home, people had not a care in the world of what she wanted, and then now, as an adult, she had her life together, even though she was still told what to do. Where to go to and when to be there. This was her choice to make and it had been made.

And to make matters worse, the _only_ living guy she had ever been attracted to, didn't even bother to look her way. Any other guy couldn't be happier to date her, but she had to like the only one who wasn't interested. Unless he needed something, of course. But that was Tony Stark. He was a _Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist. _True words, but they were his, not hers. She would never give him that kind of satisfaction, worthy or not.

She didn't understand how a reasonable person such, as herself, could like him. You could even call it love. She would deny it, of course, even though it is, undeniably, true. She got the occasional stare down from him but that was where it stopped. She was nothing more to him than a business associate. To call them friends, would be pushing the tab a bit.

He didn't care about anyone's feelings but his own. She had cried the whole three months he had been held hostage and all he had to say when he got back was "Well, vacations over." She would have hardly called it a vacation. She got the occasional "I don't have anyone but you" but that was only when he needed her "petite" hand to attach wires inside of his body.

When he would have girls over, he would leave before they woke up, leaving her to deal with them, sending them all home in a disheveled mess. But that was just him. He was _Professor Hit It and Quit It, _leaving no room for Pepper.

She took all this into consideration as she stepped onto the ledge of her apartment building.

Pepper hated not understanding things, especially something as stupid as love. Her life was going nowhere and she really had nothing to live for. The only way life would change would be that she wouldn't be living one anymore, and that still seemed better than what she was living now. The only person that would actually be affected if Pepper wasn't there would be Tony, because without her, the company would crash and burn all around him, probably at the hands of Tony himself.

So, with that in mind, with a quick glance up at the stars one last time, admiring their everlasting beauty, she jumped.

•••

**Earlier that day**

"Do you know where you are?" Tony's eyes shot up from the green grass and landed upon a man who he was not familiar. He was fairly tan, had shaggy brown hair, and piercing blue eyes, with a set of brown, thick eyebrows to match. Tony guessed he could be labeled as handsome.

"Excuse me?" He asked.

"Do you know where you are?" The voice that came from the man did not fit his appearance, although it was undeniably familiar.

Tony considered the question in his mind, turning it over and over again, until reality set in.

He didn't know where he was.

His eyes roamed the grounds he stood on, taking in the scenery and the detail. Down the hill, near a sturdy oak, a type of meeting was taking place, a ceremony, maybe. Bodies were hovering over something, prohibiting him from seeing what was behind him. He didn't know what it was, but he had a gut feeling he wouldn't like it. Not just that, but he _knew _he would hate it.

The thought sent shivers up and back down his spine, although he ignored it as best as he could.

"No, I don't. Umm, I'm sorry but have we met?" The young boy cracked a smile, but it vanished just as quickly as it had materialized.

"Yes, actually, many times. Maybe this will help: Good morning. It's 7:00 a.m. The weather in Malibu…"

"JARVIS! What the hell? Why are you…" He motioned up and down the young boy's body with his hands.

"When I took form, I was able to choose my body form. Zac Efron all the way." He explained.

"Who?" His brow furrowed, in confusion.

"You know. 17 Again. High School Musical…" When Tony's light bulb didn't go off, he exclaimed, "Oh, come on! High School Musical. Maybe this will help. _Bop bop bop, bop to the top!" _He attempted to sing as best as an automated British machine could.

"Sorry, no. And I have to say, I pride myself on that." JARVIS/Zac Efron rolled his eyes but continued.

"Anyways, I hate to sound like a broken record but do you know where you are?

"No, which is odd," he muttered. "Where am I?"

JARVIS looked down in silence. "A funeral, sir." If he knew how to cry, a tear would have most likely fallen.

"Whose?" Tony asked, his voice now stone hard. JARVIS/Zac Efron looked back up at Tony, hands in his pocket. "Whose?" He repeated, fury in his voice.

"Miss Potts, sir." His ears started burning and his throat became dry, drier than it was when he had been out in the desert, looking for a rescue plane. His eyes filled up with tears, threatening to burst.

"My Miss Potts. Pepper?" He started to weep. "No, no, no. I can't believe it. **I** **won't.**"

"I am sorry." He told Tony, who had now become a deathly shade of white. After a minute, he turned around, looking at the funeral. He saw a few people he recognized, mainly people from the office and a few faces he didn't recognize.

"How? How did she die?" He asked after a few moments.

"She jumped out of a window." Tony whipped around.

"_She killed herself?" _JARVIS nodded solemnly. Tony couldn't believe it. He shattered, running and yelling down the hill to where the funeral was taking place. Surprisingly, no one gave him the time of day. It was almost like he was…

"Invisible. Yes to them, you aren't here." Tony turned around and saw JARVIS standing right behind him. Could he read his mind? Oh, well. He didn't care.

He didn't care about anything anymore.

"Why can't they see me?" He asked, halfheartedly.

Before he could answer, the scene changed.

He was now standing on a ledge. The first thing he noticed was how high up he was. The next thing he noticed was a shaky figure standing next to him. She wore a determined yet scared expression on her face.

"Pepper!" Tony exclaimed. He didn't detect any change in her gaze. Obviously, she couldn't hear him. But he could hear her. The odd thing was, her lips weren't moving. Was he hearing her thoughts?

_Why should I live? There's no point._

"Yes, there is Pepper! Me! Without you, I couldn't survive!"

_He doesn't even know I exist. Nobody knows I exist. _She took a step towards her death. Two steps to go and she would be a bug on a windshield.

"I know you exist! And who's he? Whoever it is is a dumbass!"

_I'm nothing more than his PA._

Now this surprised him. She took another step.

"Me? I'm the dumbass? No, no, no! I do notice you. I love you!" He tried to reach for her hand but he moved right through her. Realization took over. He was going to watch her jump to her own death, and he couldn't do anything but watch.

"I love you I love you I love you!" He yelled.

"Have you told her that before she was threatening to jump 16 stories down?" Tony jumped and turned around. Iron Man stared him down in the face.

"JARVIS? What are you…never mind. How do I stop her from jumping?" He cried. Iron JARVIS shook his head,

"You can't. This is her decision and she has already made it.

_I'm done. _He heard her think. Spinning around, watching her close the gap between her and death, he witnessed her jump, 16 stories down, to her death.

"Noooooo!" He yelled. He was helpless. She was helpless. He could have sworn he heard her whisper, _I love you Tony_, but he couldn't be sure. All he could do was watch and scream and yell.

•••

"Sir, wake up. Wake up! You're dreaming, sir!" Tony's eyes fluttered open. He was back in his room. Back in his bed. Back in his sheets.

"JARVIS! What time is it?" A moment of silence..

"7:58 p.m." He was faster than lightening, jumping out of his bed and running down to the workshop. The suit fastened on at the press of a button and he was off, flying at top speed towards Pepper's apartment building.

"JARVIS calculate approximate time it would take from here to pepper's building," Tony commanded, not slowing down.

"3 minutes 24 seconds, sir."

"Not fast enough. Put everything you got into the thrusters." In a matter of 1 minute and 27 seconds Pepper's building came into view. His sights narrowed on her window, where he saw her. Standing there. He was zeroing in on it when he saw her jump.

"Not today Potts." He swooped under her and caught her, bridal style, almost 50 feet from the ground.

50 feet from death.

She screamed as he began the journey back to his building. It took them a few minutes to get there, in which tears replaced Pepper's screaming. When he landed he put her down.

"Why would you do this to me? Do you hate me that much to where you couldn't let me make one decision for myself? Just get away…"

He grabbed her by the waste and crashed his lips on hers. She was a bit stunned at first, but she's a fast learner.

Once they broke apart she started crying again. "I thought you…"

"You thought wrong. About everything. You were so wrong. I do love you more than anything. I didn't think you liked me like that. Truth is, I was afraid of being rejected. I always have wanted to be with you and still do, that is if you'll have me?" She laughed as he wiped a tear that had fallen.

"Will I have you? Tony Stark, I threw myself off of a roof because I thought I couldn't have you!" He smiled.

"So I take that as a yes?"

"Yes, yes, yes…" She threw her arms around his neck.

"You don't know how bad I've wanted to hear that, Miss Potts." She peered into his eyes.

"Oh, believe me, I think I do, Mr. Stark." He gave her a kiss, which she gladly accepted. Someone coming down the stairs interrupted them.

"Shall I pop a bottle of champagne sir?" JARVIS/Zac Efron asked. Both Tony and Pepper's mouths dropped, Pepper's a little wider than Tony's.

"You…are…real? Wait…?"

"Is…that…Zac Efron?"

**The End**

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